A CONTINUING SERIES ON GREAT CITIES
Three Things You Should
Know About N.Y.C.
byKenSkuba
Recently I visited the United
Nations in New York City with
Dr. Miller and students from his
two International Understanding
Classes. Since I was going to the
cultural capital of the United
States, and for a mere pittance, I
decided I would share my
experience with my college
peers.
In order to collect some
research for this article I thought
it would be a good idea to ask
native New Yorkers what they
think are three things an outsider
should know about their great
city.
While walking down 42nd
Street, I stopped a gentleman, or
rather he stopped me. In any
event, I decided to interview him
first.
“Sir, I’m an outsider from
Hazleton, Pennsylvania and I’m
writing an article on three things
people should know about New
York City. Can you give me some
advice?”
“Shut up or I’ll slit your throat,
fella.”
That he wasn’t very polite was
my first impression, but you
can’t judge a book by its cover.
Maybe he was just having a bad
day, so I thought I’d revise the
question so he wouldn’t have to
think as hard.
“Sir, could you tell me (one)
thing I should know about New
York?”
“Give me your money, man, or
you’ll be an outsider for good!”
Vegas Night
A Success
Gamblers, drinkers, and girl
watchers showed up for the
annual Las Vegas Night,
November 2. The night turned out
to be a huge success for the
Student Union Board who
sponsored the affair. Students
came to have fun and to get a
change of pace from studying.
Blackjack, poker, craps, and Hi-
Lo were just some of the things
that attracted them. Cowgirls
were on hand to encourage
gambling and to help out where
needed. Door prizes were given
away and free food and drink
were served at the bar (that
included beer for all those beer
lovers). The highlight of the night
was the cowgirl race at the end.
Gamblers could bet money on the
girl of their choice and, if their
luck held true, could win a prize.
After Las Vegas Night, the fun
continued. There was a convoy to
U-Park for the All-U-Day football
game against Maimi.
All-U-Day gives the branch
campuses of Penn State a chance
to get to know the main campus.
Special dances and events are
planned for that weekend
designed mainly for the freshmen
and sophomores of the other
campuses. At the football game,
the idea is to get all the campuses
to show their spirit “in
numbers.” Displaying banners
and flags, every campus of Penn
State is represented.
By now there was little air
reaching my lungs and I decided
to share some of my money with
him.
“Would five dollars do?” I
gasped.
Apparently he needed more
and swiped my wallet ruthlessly.
“How about 60-40?”
Conversation seemed to bore
him quickly, and he raced down
the street without even saying
good-bye.
A little flushed but not
discouraged, I continued my
reporting campaign down 42nd
Street. I saw movie theaters up
ahead. No doubt I could find
someone nice there to talk with. I
stopped at the comer and waited
for the walk sign to light up, and
then I noticed something
peculiar. In New York all the
cars are yellow and all the trucks
look like buses. Someone was
running quite a business in yellow
cars, L thought to myself. And
they were all made by the same
company, TAXI.
Most of the drivers of these
cars are pretty nice, though.
They’ll go out of their way to pick
up fellow New Yorkers, in busy
traffic, just to give them a lift. In
fact, I saw one driver come right
up on the sidewalk, knock over a
newsstand and then beat up the
angry gentleman who crawled
out of the wreckage, just to give
some old lady a ride. Fortunately
passers-by helped the gentleman
pick up all his change off the
ground, but I guess they didn’t
see the newsman because no one
helped pick him off the ground. I
offered him a hand and helped
him to his feet, then he tripped
me and took my watch.
By now I was forming some
bleak conclusions about New
York City. However, determined
to find something nice about it, I
headed for the theaters. Gazing
up at the billboards I noticed that
I didn’t recognize any of the
names of the films or the movie
stars. “Fee Fee And The
PSU Offers
Foreign Study
Program
Most students at Penn State are
unaware that this university
offers a Foreign Study program.
Depending on a student’s major,
the countries of Germany, Spain,
England, and a nation in South
America await him. This
program is very beneficial to a
student who desires to compare
his culture with someone else’s.
After comparing the U.S. to a
different culture, a student can
realize just how systemized
people become within a society.
The courses offered abroad are
ten week courses and are very
compacted, generally geared to
the understanding of the culture
being visited. If anyone is
interested in this worthwhile
program, contact the Foreign
Studies office one year prior to
which you wish to leave. Also,
Mark Gerhard, who is currently
on campus, has studied abroad in
Exeter, England, and may be
able to answer any questions you
may have concerning this
program. 1
Buffaloes” starring Sheila
Feetzinelli, might have been up
for an Oscar, but I couldn’t be
sure. No one seemed to go into the
theaters, either. They just stood
around outside in small groups
passing their money around to
each other. Some of them, mostly
women, just danced on the
sidewalk. One gentleman, whom
I chose to talk with, had his face
up against one of the buildings.
“Sir, Sir, excuse me Sir, but
I’m from Penn...”
“Go away, don’t bother me!”
“Sir, uh, why do you have your
face up against this wall?”
The gentleman pulled away
and I saw a little hole where his
face was. Then he walked away
looking spiritually uplifted, just
dazing off into space. What could
it be? I wondered, and then I
peeked out of curiosity. At last!
At last, I found something nice
about New York City.
CAB, NEC Plan New Front Entrance
The Campus Advisory Board
and the Hazleton Education
Council are currently planning a
new front entrance for the
Hazleton Campus. Due to be
completed by the end of the
Spring term, the entrance will
include sidewalks, stone walls on
either side of the road leading up
to the campus, 2 stone Nittany
Lions, lighting, and landscaping.
Local architect John Miorelli, a
Penn State graduate, who is
working with the Board and
Council, developed the plan in
Highacres Poll Finds
Ford The Winner
In the last issue, the Collegian
published the results of a poll
which asked 10 percent of the
student body to choose the
candidate they would vote for in
the Democratic primary election.
The candidates were President
Carter, and Senator Ted
Kennedy. Senator Kennedy was
the victor. In a more recent poll
taken by the Collegian, 10 percent
of the student body was again
asked to participate. This time
they were asked who they would
vote for in the Republican
primary election, with the
candidates being Gerald Ford
and Ronald Reagan. The results
claimed Ford as the victor over
Reagan.
Five percent of the students
surveyed stated they would not
vote for either candidate. Most
students who said they would
STUDENTS % STUDENTS % STUDENTS % STUDENTS
FOR FORD FOR REAGAN FOR NEITHER
Freshman
Female 72
Freshman Male 78
Sophomore
Female
Sophomore
,Male
On The Way 'Home'
After walking from the
Commons, which was still
crowded, I sat down in the car
and pondered over the evening’s
entertainment: “Had it been
good?”
It had.
The Drama Club's
performance of David French’s
play, “Leaving Home,” was one
of consistency, with acting at a
high level, excepting a few
instances of improper inflection.
Easily the audience’s favorite
character, because of the comic
touch, was Jacob Mercer, the
father, played by Nick Millen.
Mr. MiUen’s performance was
exemplary of good college
theatre, and he is to be
commended for the extra depth
with which he presented Jacob:
as the self-centered, dodge-all-
consultation with the Physical
Plant Department at University
Park.
The last major project
sponsored by the HEC was the
raising of $225,000 in 1966 as seed
money to expand the Campus.
This project resulted in the new
Classroom Building.
No definite figures for the cost
of the project have been
determined, but preliminary
estimates set it at approximately
$30,000.
vote for Ford commented that he
did a good job before and felt that
if given the chance he would do a
good job again. Other students
who chose Ford felt that Reagan
did not have the experience
needed to pull the country out of
the economical problems that we
are now facing. Many students
did not know why they picked
Ford; they felt, however, that if
they did vote, Ford would be their
choice. The students who choose
Reagan felt that the country is in
need of new leadership and that
Reagan is the one who can do the
job, however, however the results
of this survey clearly indicate
that the Highacres campus will
support Ford at the Republican
primary election. Now as it
stands, the big choice is between
Gerald Ford and Senator Ted
Kennedy.
Table 1
Results of Ford VS Reagan
Student Survey
Highacres Campus
by Finn Petersen
Highacres Collegian—3
criticism, unable-to-have-his
way husband and father.
Playing opposite him, Martha
Beharry’s Mary Mercer was
also excellent. Although Ms.
Beharry’s voice became too quiet
at times, she gave the part the
strength it needed to combat
Jacob’s tirades, confront her
children’s radical views and
language, console Kathy’s loss,
and chide Minnie’s wagging
tongue.
The two brothers leaving home,
Ben and Billy, were competently
portrayed by Mark Peterson and
Jeff Beach, respectively. As Ben,
Mr. Peterson’s disdain towards
his mother, early in the first act,
was inflicted with a worldly
“Bogie”-esque look, as if to say,
“Don’t bug me, Schweetheart!”
Later in toe play we saw him
express great love to his mother,
and hatred, towards his father,
but in between these strong
emotions, we saw actions that
seemed to be pantomime: his
facial asides when Billy was
discussing his sex life. Going
from the majority of his
performance, I would have to say
that this was a director’s
oversight.
Mr. Beach’s acting, although
not dazzling, was very strong in
character and realism. This
could be seen, felt rather, in the
scenes between Billy and Kathy:
a young man’s indecision on
committing himself to love and
marriage. As in Jacob, toe same
trait of stubbomess was there.
Dawn Gyrusek delicately
played Kathy, a young girl
pushed into marriage by
pregnancy, then after a
miscarriage, making the
marriage unnecessary,
wondering whether Billy loved
her for herself. This was subtly
displayed by Ms. Gyrusek as she
constantly fidgeted with her
engagement ring. At times a bit
bn toe quiet side, she was also
able to command attention when
she wanted.
Minnie, the “Femme Fatale”,
of the play, was acted by Beth
Howard. Dressed to kill, she
came into the Mercer household
and began to take over, talking a
mile a minute with respect for no
one, least of all Kathy. These
attributes were well carried out
by Ms. Howard, but at times I felt
as though she were reading
instead of acting, and I also
haven’t quite figured out where a
Newfoundlander acquired a
southern drawl. Glen Puhak, as
Minnie’s mute “Formaldehyde
Kid,” provided the audience with
a few comic instances aiong with
Jacob, and through his eyes we
were able to see what was really
going on in the Mercer’s living
room.
The director, Dr. Carl Frankel,
is to be congratulated on a solid
production, as are Nora
Reichard, the assistant director,
and all the crew, the Commons is
not the ideal situation for theatre,
especially theatre in the round,
but this event was remarkably
well handled, and I am sure that
the many who attended on the
four successive night will agree.
To those that did not attend, I can
rally say that they missed a,
unique experience: